Traveling Quick & Light : Packing A ‘Run Kit’

The run kit is a simple concept, it is single bag that is usually kept packed, or that can be rapidly packed, allowing a photographer to quickly get out the door and go to work.

While I no longer keep a run kit permanently packed, as I no longer cover breaking news for a living, I keep one handy for last minute jobs and ‘quick and dirty’ travel assignments. My concept for a run kit is simple, a single bag, that can be worn while working, that only carries ‘mission critical’ items.

Mission critical items can be broken down into groups, and for me include quite literally the clothes on my back. These groups include equipment, critical ‘support’ accessories, clothing and ‘sanity’ (sanity is noise canceling headsets and a Sony PSP with movies). When choosing your items for this type of bag, it is important to throw out anything that is not a basic essential need. If you can fit in a few non-critical items, great, if you can’t be prepared to travel without them.

Photographers are notorious for wanting to pack and travel with every piece of gear they own. While I often wish I has access to a larger arsenal of equipment on many shoots, the actual time and travel constraints prevent me from packing much of my gear, so I have broken the vast majority of my ‘quick shooting’ into a set of two bodies and two lenses. Of course there are times I get on a plane with a large backpack or Pelican case loaded with 10 lenses, various accessories and a spare body, but for many shoots a combo of simple gear handles all of my needs.

Choosing your equipment should be based on both your shooting style and the minimal essentials to be able to function in the field. Sometimes the run-kit includes a flash and e-TTL cord, at times a 3rd lens is thrown in, but that is based on the basic needs of what I think I’ll encounter on any given assignment.

Below is a photo of my basic run-kit, which has just come on two-day journey to Paris and Amsterdam, with only half-a-day shooting in Paris (the rest of the job was strictly related to travel strategies).

All of this fits easily and comfortably into a single bag, which in turn wears comfortably on my back for long days. Yesterday I wore this backpack non-stop for nearly 8 hours with the cameras out on my shoulders.

When packing for you next quick trip save your back, save yourself the hassle (if possible) and pack on a run-kit.

Pingbacks

[…] with a loaded Run-Kit on my back, which I wrote about here : 01/03/2009 – Traveling Quick & Light : Packing A ‘Run Kit’, and a camera on each shoulder, I headed off to find a minimum of four cityscape/architecture […]

[…] writing about creating a ‘Run Kit’ for travel as a photographer a few days ago, in this post : 01/03/2009 – Traveling Quick & Light : Packing A ‘Run Kit, I have received many e-mails asking me how to select equipment for the creation of a ‘run […]

About Me

Fish has been covering aviation and transportation security issues since September 15, 2001, after walking away from Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan following four days of documenting the worst aviation security disaster in history.

Having spent more than a decade-and-a-half as a full-time photojournalist, Fish now divides his time between building social media and social commerce strategies and solutions for global travel brands, along with researching aviation and transportation security.

Growing up at the end up New York's JFK International Airport's Runway 4R/22L probably explains Fish’s enjoyment of watching planes fly overhead. When not working or shooting photos, Fish can be found playing with (and cleaning up after) his three kids, chasing his dogs, standing in the kitchen cooking, monitoring radios public safety and federal radios and of course cheering for the Red Sox.

You can find Fish on Twitter at @flyingwithfish …and … join Fish every Thursday at 3:30pm EST as he hosts the weekly #TNI #Travel Chat on Twitter.